A tale of two parables

Good Friday morning, my friends.

I had the privilege this morning of attending the 1st Annual Ottawa Civic Prayer Breakfast.  There was a great turnout - my estimate is about 400 people.  The guest speaker this morning was the CEO of the Yonge Street Mission in Toronto, Rick Tobias.  He spoke on two parables spoken by Jesus:  The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats from Matthew 25:31-46 and The Parable of the Good Samaritan from Luke 10:25-37.  The theme of the morning was "Who is my neighbour?" which is the question asked to Jesus in the latter of these parable and prompts Jesus to reply with the familiar story of the Good Samaritan.  Dr. Tobias turned the question around, bringing in the first parable:  To whom are we not being a neighbour?  Or more to the point: How am I going to explain to Jesus how I chose whom to be a neighbour to when it comes time for the judgement?  Remember the words of Jesus in The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats:

"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

"The King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.'

"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

"He will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

I found this a challenging, thought provoking message.  And so I share it with you.  Who do you choose to be a neighbour to and who do you choose not to?  Who is that person at work that is too difficult to deal with?  Who is that homeless person who is too dirty or too inebriated to be worthy of our time?  Who is that family member that is too obnoxious for us to find time to spend with them?

If this is tweaking your conscience (as it is mine) then thank God - He is at work in you, bringing you more and more into the likeness of His Son.

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

Bruce

Lord Jesus Christ, You gave your life out of love for all people, and You encouraged your followers to do good to others. 

Over the years many Christians have found this difficult and I am no exception. 

I try, but it is so hard to have a loving attitude toward all---and then I feel hypocritical in claiming to follow You.

Help me, dear Lord, to really believe that Christian love is the greatest energy in the world. 

Let me see that this is not an emotion, but a central attitude of one's being---an attitude of service for others in Your Name. 

It is the result of your grace, and prompts us to will only good things for others as images of God. 

Grant that I may always strive to attain this attitude and so live up to the noble vocation to which I am called. 

Amen.

(http://www.2heartsnetwork.org/love.htm)

Bruce MacPherson  macpherson@celtic.ca / Blog: The Celtic Christian / Home: 613.489.4174 Cell: 613.720.0821 You are receiving this email because you have requested it or I felt you would be interested in this material. If you would like to be removed from this email list, please do not hesitate to contact me at the above email address.  Likewise, if you know of someone else who you believe would appreciate receiving these messages, please let me know.